Very in-depth analysis of how the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention recruits and encourages short-term missionaries, the administrative aspects of the Convention's STM and missionary program, motivations of STMers, and the impact of STMers on mission ministry, mission awareness, financial contribution to missions, and future missions involvement.

Finds that volunteers and missionaries both perceive STMs as increasing mission awareness, increasing financial giving; volunteers reported being motivated to long-term service, although most ruled themselves out from such service as unqualified; volunteers reported high motivation for further STM participation.

Surveys:

Questionnaires sent to 300 volunteers and 50 missionaries (out of 8,611 volunteers and 1,168 missionaries that served the SBC in 1979-1980).

oMissionaries: in response to "What effect do you feel short term volunteer ministries have on ministry awareness?" 81.8% indicated that short term volunteers have "much positive effect" on missions awareness.

oVolunteers: in response to "How has your overseas ministry affected your knowledge of missions?" 79.8% said it "increased their knowledge greatly."

Future Financial Support of Missions:

oMissionaries: 68.2% felt STMs would positively effect financial support of world missions "much," 29.5% thought there would be a "moderate" positive effect.

oVolunteers: more than 70% said they had increased mission giving due to volunteer experience.

Incentive Toward a Career in Foreign Mission

Volunteers were asked "As a result of your having participated in an overseas volunteer ministry, how do you feel about a career of missionary service for yourself?"

77.6% responded that they were not qualified for such service; (however, 54.8% of all respondents said that while they were not qualified, they would encourage others to go, and the rest who said they were not qualified said they would go if they were.)

8.2% were planning to apply for career missionary service.

13.8% said they would investigate the possibility of a career in foreign missions.

Future Short Term Volunteer Service

63.4% had only been involved in one STM previously

95% said they would go on another one

4.2% said it was "a good one-time experience"

Only 0.4% (one respondent) said they had a bad experience

· Primary Influences to Go on Short Term Service

-on a scale of "much-moderate-little-no", following percentages ranked following categories as "much":